Shelter From This Storm
by alilrose
Summary: Kim's life is far from perfect. What happens when Jared imprints on her?
1. Chapter 1

School. The one place I could get away from him. The one place he wasn't controlling me. It didn't make a difference though. The other students were almost as bad as him other students bullied me both physically and mentally and no one ever gave me a second look. It was torture. I was completely alone, surrounded by people who made my life a living hell. There was no break from the abuse in my life. At school it was the other students and at home it was him.

I liked learning though, and some of my teachers liked me. I was a good student. Besides a job, school work was the only other thing there was for me to do. I concentrated on my schoolwork for a distraction. That and reading. Reading and writing had always been a distraction or release for me. I could be myself, I didn't have to hide. It was the same with music. I slowly saved up my pennies to buy an ipod and once I had one, music. I listened to music whenever I could, like I was now as I walked to school.

I always walked to school, he would never drive me or give me a vehicle. That would give me freedom and rights, which were never given to me. I went to Forks High School since I lived on the border between Forks and La Push. Since I lived on the border it was a long walk to either school but of course Forks was farther away. It was too cold to walk to school, especially since I only had a thin jacket. Winter was horrible; so cold and snowy, it wasn't healthy.

By the time I got to school my face was frozen and my whole body was shaking. I was always was cold but this was an extreme. I made my way inside trying to hide from everyone. I had almost made it to my locker without being noticed but it was too good to be true.

"Ah, don't you look so pathetic," a nasally, high-pitched voice that I recognized to be Lauren's cooed behind me. I tried to ignore her, concentrating on putting the combo in the lock.

"Bitch look at me when I talk to you!" she growled grabbing my arm roughly and turning me to face her before slamming me into the locker harshly. The lock hit my back sharply, scraping against it. I flinched at the sharp pain and she grinned.

"I'm sorry, did that hurt? How about this?" she asked pushing me to the ground and kicking my stomach. I groaned in pain, he had kicked the same place last night. I quickly curled into a ball so she was kicking my shins instead.

"Ugh, you're so disgusting," she complained before walking away. I forced myself to stand up quickly, as to not get kicked again. Many people were laughing as I winced at the pain in my abdomen. I got my things from my locker and made my way to my first class and started my day.

The last class of my day was gym, my least favorite class. I changed in the bathroom stall and came out in my gym outfit. I tried to ignore all the comments that were thrown my way as I walked through the locker room. Some of the insults were about my weight, others my body shape, personality, or just overall looks. Even though I was unhealthily skinny, they still called me fat. I would like gym if I had more energy and was healthier. I liked being active and playing sports, but I couldn't do as much as I would like, leaving me to stand wimpily in the corner.

After class I found that my clothes were no longer in my locker. I looked around and found Jessica, Lauren's friend standing on the other side of the room holding them with a smirk on her face.

"Please give them back," I asked softly as I walked over to her.

"I think not," she sneered, holding them above my head, which was easy since I was pretty short, standing at 5'2". She quickly walked over to the showers and dropped my clothes on the floor. I grabbed them swiftly but wasn't fast enough. The shower turned on, dousing me in ice cold water. I gasped at the sudden cold as I was immediately soaked. I tried walking away but slipped, falling backwards and hitting my head sharply against the hard floor. I had an instant headache and my vision was blurry for a few seconds. The water turned off as I lay there, soaked to the bone and trying to back my tears.

It was only when I was sure everyone had left that I slowly got up, feeling very dizzy and nauseous. I slowly walked to a bathroom stall, barely making it before the little food in my stomach came out. It was only then, as I sat retching acid into the toilet that I began to cry. They had gone too far this time. I couldn't put up with this anymore.

After I was sure I was done vomitting, I slowly stood up leaning on the wall as the room spun and I had trouble staying on my feet. I very slowly made my way out of the locker room and through the halls, trying to get to my locker. At my locker, I stood still for a few minutes trying to stabilize the earth and catch my breath. Once I had I gathered my things and made my way to the front office, I needed to leave this school. I got into the office and the warmth and subdued light made me feel very sleepy.

"Hello dear, how can I help you?" the secretary asked nicely. It took me a few seconds to answer as it took a lot more effort than normal to respond.

"I need papers to transfer to another school, my parents are having move to the high school on the rez," I said slowly, the noise hurting my head even more.

"Okay, sweetie here you go. You can fill them out right now and I'll send them over to La Push High tonight so you can start there tomorrow," she said giving me a nice smile although she looked at me suspiciously.

It was then that I realized my words weren't just slow, they were slurred. I nodded, trying to ignore the pounding in my head. I filled out the form, taking my time to answer all of the questions as they didn't seem to make sense at first. Eventually, I figured it all out and completed it, handing it back to the lady and making my way out of the school for the last time.

As I walked out into the sun, it aggravated my head, the pounding intensifying. I pushed myself forward and began to make my way home. It was slow going as I was really dizzy and had trouble staying on my feet. When I was about halfway there, a car appeared coming towards me and I looked up, breaking my concentration causing me to trip and fall. I ended up lying on the ground and I couldn't get up. I was too dizzy and I began to feel I was going to vomit again. My head was pounding and I closed my eyes to try and stifle it. Once they were closed, they were too heavy to open again and I found myself slipping into unconciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Beeping. That's all I heard at first. It was too high-pitched and loud. It was hurting my head. Why was anything beeping? It didn't sound like my alarm clock. I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in a white hospital room. There were monitors around me and I was in a gown, laying in a small bed. I looked around slowly and found the room empty besides me and a few machines. I noticed a clip on my finger that was probably reading my oxygen levels and a few stickers on my chest, monitoring my heartbeat.

I also saw an iv in my arm. I began to freak out, I was very afraid of needles and iv's. There was a piece of plastic sticking in my arm to a vein with a piece of tape covering it and I couldn't stand it. It needed to get out. Right now. The beeping sped up and I began to breath quicker, having a panic attack. A nurse ran into the room and I looked at her with wide eyes, fear clear on my face.

"Sweetie, it's okay. You're okay," she said trying to calm me down. Tears began to stream down my face and I began to hyperventilate, I needed the iv out. She grabbed a mask and put it over my face, and I felt more oxygen enter my lungs.

"What's wrong?" she asked concerned as she held the mask over my face and stroked my hair, attempting to calm me. I couldn't stop crying and breathing erratically so I took my other hand and touched the iv, trembling.

"Oh honey, that needs to stay in, that's how we're helping you," she said narrowing her eyes in concern. I shook my head rapidly, immediately stopping as the pain in my head increased.

"I'm so sorry, I really can't do anything about it," she said sounding genuinely sorry. I continued to panic, there wasn't anything that could calm me down except getting that thing out of my arm.

"Okay dear, I'm going to give you a sedative so you can sleep until it can be taken out okay? Just try to take some deep breaths as I run and get it," she said finally, looking me directly in the eyes. I nodded slightly through my panic stricken haze and she disappeared from my vision. I continued to sit there crying, feeling very scared and pathetic. She was back quickly and inserted something in my iv before coming to my side again and holding my hand as I fell asleep.

When I woke up again, the heart rate monitor still beeping but when I looked down, there was no iv. The same nurse from before was standing beside me with a kind smile on her face.

"Hi Kimberly, we took out the iv now I'm really sorry about that," she said again, looking like she actually cared and was sorry.

"s'ok," I mumbled, still feeling very sleepy. She smiled.

"You're okay to go home now it seems you have a concussion and whatever caused that gave you a few bruises elsewhere but nothing serious. We prescribed some pain killers for you so you should be good to go as long as you take it easy for a bit," she said pressing the button that made my bed sit up.

"Thank you," I said softly, looking down.

"Of course. Here are your clothes so you can go change and then your dad is waiting outside to take you home," she said smiling like it was a good thing. Which it wasn't at all. I slowly got up, encouraged when I wasn't too dizzy. I changed as fast as I could and walked out with the nurse. I looked cautiously ahead at the waiting room and there he was, sitting there with a serious look on his face which I knew meant trouble.

"Okay, she's all good to go, just make sure she takes it easy for a while," the nurse said smiling as I stood by him. He nodded and took my arm in his hand, practically dragging me out of the hospital. It was very dark outside, I must have been in there for a few hours.

"You are in so much trouble," he growled, causing me to shiver in fear as we walked to the car. Inside, he ignored me the whole way home and was quickly out and into the house when we got there. I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what was about to come and hesitantly walked to the door and stepped inside.

I took a few steps into the dim house and was stuck harshly in the shoulder, causing me to topple to the floor where I automatically curled into a ball as he began to kick me harshly. His large boots delivered blow after blow to my body, and I couldn't help but whimper in pain. He paused for a second only to throw an empty beer bottle on me that shattered and cut my shirt and skin, before walking away.

I slowly got up, tears slipping out of eyes once again as I began to clean the small cuts on my stomach. This had been a horrible day, and I was sick of having days like this. Hopefully my new school would be better.


	3. Chapter 3

I walked into the kitchen, hoping to get at least a little bit of breakfast for once. Catching sight of a ripe banana on the counter, I quickly peeled it and began to eat it. It tasted amazing, as all food did when you were basically a forced anorexic. It made me want more but I knew better, my stomach could no longer hold large amounts of food. It lost that tolerance awhile ago.

When I was halfway done, the banana was suddenly slapped out of my hand. I gasped and looked up to see him glaring down at me menacingly.

"You bitch! What do you think you are doing? Eating my food!" he bellowed, backing me up into the counter as he spat in my face. His hand swiftly struck my face, my head swinging to the side, my cheek stinging instantly and a headache beginning.

"You fat, worthless pig! Get on the floor where you belong!" he yelled, pushing me to the floor. My hip hit the edge of the counter on the way down and I knew it would leave a nice bruise.

"You need to be punished," he growled, gripping my shoulder tightly. He grabbed one of the knives off the counter and I closed my eyes to prepare myself for the pain that was coming. I felt him pull up my shirtsleeve and then the knife was slashing through the flesh on my arm. I whimpered in pain, a few tears slipping out due to how intense the pain was.

Eventually, he was done and walked away, barking at me to clean up after myself. He slammed the door behind him and I looked down slowly, scared of what I was going to see. There were five cuts across my arm, two on my upper arm, one by the joint, and two on my forearm. Bile rose in my throat at the sight of so much blood as I quickly began to make my way to the bathroom. There I cleaned the cuts and wrapped them in gauze tightly before cleaning the kitchen. By the time I was done cleaning up it was past the time I should have left to go to school. I got out of the door as fast as I could and took the new route to my new school, thankfully arriving in time.

The second I got near the school, I knew I would stick out like a sore thumb. It was a small school and they were all tall and tan, many of them muscular as well whereas I was short, pale, and scrawny. I made my way to the main entrance, holding myself tightly and keeping my head down, trying not to have an anxiety attack. All the stares and people scared me and I wished it would stop. In the main office, there was a nice lady behind the desk who helped me get registered and gave me my schedule.

I took my schedule from her, sending her a grateful smile before walking out of the office. I looked at the map and headed towards Wing C where my locker was. When I finally got to my locker I found that it was at the end of row so I wouldn't have to push through as many people to get to it. I emptied my backpack into it, only keeping a notebook, folder, and pencil. I closed my now full locker and looked at my schedule and saw that I had english so I headed in what I thought was the right direction. Again, it took me forever to find the room and by the time I got there I had likely missed half of the class. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door before walking into the classroom. All eyes were on me as I walked nervously up to the teacher and handed him my slip causing him to look at me weirdly.

"Do you not have an escort?" he asked confused. I shook my head, embarrassed.

"Okay, you can go sit by Embry and he'll be your escort for today. Embry raise your hand," he said and a large, muscular guy in the back of the classroom raised him hand, smiling friendlily. I made my way back to him avoiding everyones gazes.

"Hi!" he said cheerily as I sat down beside him.

"Hi," I said softly, hiding behind my hair.

"What's your name?" he asked still smiling widely.

"Kim," I said wishing he would just get the message that I didn't want to talk.

"So are you new here?" he whispered as the teacher began to lecture.

"Um, science," I said quietly.

"Me too! You'll sit by me in that class too probably!" He said happily. I gave him a confused look peeking from behind my hair.

"I sit alone in that class too," he explained. I nodded and listened to the teacher lecture on the writing styles of the 1500's. I dutifully took notes and kept myself busy through the whole period. By the time the bell rung, I had two pages of notes on Shakespeare. I quickly gathered my thing, trying not to wince at the horrible stinging in my arm.

"So, since I am your escort, I'll walk you to your locker and your next class," Embry said gathering his stuff also. "Can I see your schedule?"

I handed him my information and looked at him confused, as a grin grew on his face.

"We're locker neighbors and basically have the same schedule!" he exclaimed. I nodded and gripped my things as we walked out of the classroom and into the crowded hallway. People seemed to clear a path for him which was nice, but that meant everyone was staring at me as I walked beside him, trying to hide behind my hair. At our lockers, I grabbed the things I needed and Embry slammed his locker closed causing me to jump.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. I shook my head to show it was okay and closed my locker, a lot more gentle than he had.

When we got to science I went to the teacher and gave her my slip. Just as Embry had predicted, I was told to sit by him and he smiled at me before the teacher started giving instructions on the lab we were doing. It turned out that today, we were going to dissect a frog and all the other girls in class weren't excited about it. They were are all groaning as the teacher explained what we would have to do. It did not bother me, I was okay with cutting it open and not getting nauseous but, it saddened me to think that they were raised just to be killed so people could tear them apart. The teacher handed us our frog and supplies and Embry looked at me curious.

"This doesn't bother you?" he asked as I put on my gloves. I shrugged as I tried to get the gloves to stay on since they were way too big for me.

"Your awesome," he said bluntly, causing me to blush. We got to work and were the first ones done. We cleaned up our table and the teacher told us we could do what we wanted for the rest of class. I began the outline for the essay we were assigned in English while Embry attempted to sharpen his pencil with his scissors.

Once class was over, we walked back to my locker but, halfway there Embry ran into some of his friends. I had a feeling he would try and introduce me so, I quickly slipped away before he could. Embry approached me at my locker and gave me a questioning look but I just shrugged.

"What do you have next?" Embry asked as he opened his locker.

"Um, calculus," I said quietly.

"Seriously? I have algebra two!" he asked. I nodded as he gave me an unbelieving look.

"Okay, whatever, off to room 304," he said sillily, showing me the way to the classroom. The warning bell rang and he looked at me worriedly.

"The classroom is just down that hallway on the left, can you get there yourself? My class is on the other side of the school," he said rushing his words. I nodded and smiled encouragingly, and like that he was off in the other direction. I continued to walk down the hallway but halfway there, I was suddenly surrounded by a large group of girls. I began to panic as they smirked maliciously at me.

"Okay bitch, I know you're new but you should know that sluts like you aren't tolerated. Embry doesn't like you, he is mine. So back off and go get some new clothes," one of them said stepping in front of the others. I looked down at my pathetic wardrobe, I could only afford sweatpants and blank t-shirts with the occasional sweatshirt. I nodded in agreement, trying to get her to go away but, she pushed me causing me to fall on my butt. I dropped my books and caught myself with my arm, wincing as it burned. People all over the hallway began to laugh as I gathered my books from the floor.

Once I stood up, they finally let me through and I walked to calc dreading what the rest of the year would bring. Why was it always me? It wasn't like I was actually a slut, I hadn't even had my first kiss yet. The rest they said was true though, I was just a worthless bitch.


	4. Chapter 4

I walked with my head down all the way to Calculus and when I got there I gave the teacher my slip to sign and was sent to sit down by a girl who was putting on mascara. She took one look at me, wrinkled her face in disgust and scooted her chair over to the other side of the table as I sat down. I hid behind my hair, trying not to think about it. I looked to my right and found myself looking at a boy who was even taller than Embry. I caught his glance for a second, overwhelmed by his warm brown eyes and quickly looked away. I got a weird feeling in my stomach that wasn't like being hungry, I figured it must have been fear since he could crush me like a bug in a second.

The teacher began the lesson then and I realized I already had learned about what she was teaching. I decided to start on the assigned homework since I already understood the concept. In the middle of one of the problems I heard my name. The teacher asked for the answer to the question on the board, obviously she had noticed that I wasn't paying attention. I glanced up at the board and knew the answer quickly but was afraid to say it.

"Um, 46.28," I said quietly looking at my desk.

"What did you say?" the teacher asked. I looked up and saw her leaning forward and realized she hadn't heard me.

"46.28," I said a bit louder and the teacher nodded, her eyes wide. I looked down quickly, making sure my hair was shielding me from their gazes as I continued the homework.

"As the bell rang, signaling the end of class, I quickly jotted down the answer to the last problem on the homework and quickly gathered my things. I walked into the hall, head down, trying to avoid another confrontation. I made it to my locker peacefully and glanced at my schedule, it was time for lunch. I didn't have money for lunch and even if I did my stomach probably wouldn't be able to handle it anyways so instead of heading to the lunchroom with everyone else, I headed to the bathroom.

I did my business and washed my hands, noticing that my arm felt wet and headed back into the stall. I rolled up my sweatshirt and saw that the blood was starting to soak the gauze. I gently took of the gauze and flushed it down the toilet. I then looked into the mirror and thoroughly examined the cuts. I discovered they were deep enough to need stitches but I couldn't go to the hospital again. Hospitals meant money, questions, and phone calls. It would result in more injuries, worse than what I went in for. I dug around in my backpack and found my extra package of gauze and wrapped my arm up again.

Once I had finished wrapping it up again, I headed out of the bathroom and through the empty hallways. I enjoyed the silence after all the noise of the other kids in my classes. I wandered through the hallways until I found signs pointing me towards the library. I followed the signs and found myself in front of a large room with windows all around it showing extensive aisles of large bookcases. I opened the door and stepped in, taking in a deep breath of the smell that could only be found in libraries. I sighed, this was now my favorite place on earth.

I strolled through the aisles, my fingers gliding over spines of books as I looked around for a book to read. There were so many choices and I was very picky about the books I read when I was in certain moods, so it took me awhile to find a book that fit my mood. Eventually, I found the perfect book and clutched it to my chest as I walked around the room, before finding a large beanbag chair in the corner which I cuddled into, reading and listening to music until the end of the period.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, where were you at lunch?" Embry asked as he walked up to his locker beside me and opened it.

"Oh, um, I was in the cafeteria," I said hoping he would be satisfied by the answer.

"Really? I didn't see you in there!" he said smiling largely. "You have snuck in and to another table when I wasn't looking."

"Um, yeah, probably," I responded glad he wasn't reading much into my answer.

"Tomorrow you should definitely sit by me though," he said as we both closed our lockers and began making our way through the halls. It seemed he was assuming that I had the same class as him and I went with it, not really knowing where we were going.

"Maybe," I responded quietly looking at my schedule and finding I had gym next, immediately feeling anxious.

"I'm in your gym class," Embry said suddenly, startling. "I saw your schedule earlier today, we are headed to the gym right now." I nodded in response and continued following him through the hallways, consumed by my thoughts. I was really nervous for my first day in gym. I didn't want something like yesterday to happen again. The shower incident had really shaken me up and it was hard for me to see the shower this morning. I felt like someone was going to push me and I was going to hit my head again and die. It scared the crap out of me.

We got to the gym and I talked to the teacher who handed me a uniform and a lock and told me to change. I noticed the uniform was sweatpants and a t-shirt but I needed to keep a sweatshirt on. Not only to keep me warm but also because I needed to make sure no one saw the gauze on my arm. I walked into the locker room and all eyes were on me. I began to panic, needing to get away from everyone and practically ran into one of the stalls. I leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths and trying to calm my erratic heartbeat.

I forced myself to change into the uniform and walked back out into the locker area. Many of the other girls were still there and I tried to avoid them as I picked a locker and put my things in it. I slowly made my way out into the gym where the other kids were gathered in small groups. Many people looked at me and I automatically looked for a place to stand where I would be ignored. I started heading towards the outside edge of all the groups to stand by the wall but was intercepted by Embry.

"Hey Kim! You should come meet my other friends!" he said happily, gesturing for me to come with him. I shook my head, my eyes wide, it was hard enough to talk to him.

"C'mon, I'm not going to let you stand here all by yourself," he said gently taking my hand and gently dragging me with him. There was a lot of pointing and whispering and I realized I was making a scene so I gave up and walked with him. He smiled down at me triumphantly and I scowled at him in response. I laughed and I realized he was leading me to a group of extremely tall, buff guys away from everyone else. In that group there was the tall guy from calculus and two other large guys. The guy from calculus caught me looking at him and I couldn't look away. He had warm brown eyes that made me feel funny when he looked at me.

"Guys, this is Kim. Kim, this is Jacob, Quil, Paul, and Jared," Embry said, causing me to quickly look away from the guy, whose name I now knew was Jared. I shyly waved to the others, not meeting their eyes. Just then the teacher blew his whistle, and I was very thankful for the distraction. They all turned to look at him and I did the same.

"Okay kids! As you could probably tell by the nets, we are doing badminton again. Partner up and then come to me to get your rackets and birdies as well as another pair to play!" he yelled, and then everyone began to move.

"Partner?" Embry asked right away, and I nodded, not knowing who else I would even be partners with if I said no. He smiled widely and we walked over to the teacher to get our stuff.

"Why hello. You must be the new kid. Kim right?" he asked right away. I nodded, taking the rackets he offered me.

"Okay, you two will go against Sara and Kaiden right over there," he pointed and Embry nodded, having me follow him over to the court.

Gym class went by pretty quick. Embry did most of the work and turned out to be really good at badminton. Hitting the birdie really hurt my arm so I didn't even really try to go after it, just standing in the corner and only hitting it when I needed to. After gym it was just Social Studies and Latin, which also went by really quick and I ended up sitting by Embry in both of those also.

I was relieved to be done with my first day, but I definitely wasn't looking forward to walking home. THe walk was actually kind of relaxing, it was just where I was headed that I wasn't looking forward to. I was surprised when I got home to an empty house though and was very thankful when he didn't show up at all that night. I didn't know what that meant or where he was but it meant I could eat dinner and get my homework done on time to go to bed at a reasonable time for once.


End file.
